Almost Home!

I thought we’d be moving out to the village before the end of 2017. Following the Lord was something still new to me since becoming a believer in 2013, but I was sure that obedience would yield quick results. We always called my grandfather an “eternal optimist” so I guess I inherited that from him, but over the next several years I would have to fight though many challenges and eventually come to the end of myself and my own strength. You see, I was always taught that if you work hard you can accomplish your goals, which is true to some degree, but I also learned that willpower is an expendable resource. I heard a quote from John Piper, one of my favorite pastors, a few years ago that has really stuck with me. He said “If you are sufficient for your task, it’s too small” Turns out I had to learn that the hard way by being called to a task that is well beyond my capacity.

As you know, we didn’t move out to the village in 2017 and here it is mid-2022 and we’re still not moved in…but we sure are close! One thing I’ve learned in the process of construction is to hold onto timelines loosely. Our original construction timeline had us finishing in June 2021. Then it moved to October, then December, then March 2022. And here we are in August 2022, more than a year after our original timeline, finally about to have our Grand Opening, but still not 100% finished. It’s been a humbling experience to put my trust in one of these deadlines only to have my hopes crushed and then having to tell everybody that it’s going to take longer than we thought. Lesson learned: timelines aren’t a good place to put your trust. Each and every time it’s felt like, “Surely there is nothing else that could possibly get in the way”, but each time it turns out that there is in fact something that can still get in the way, and each time it hurts having my misplaced hopes crushed. I gotta quit doing that!

As it stands right now, we are waiting on several exterior door handles and a “mullion” (a vertical bar between two doors) to receive our occupancy permit that we need in order to have our grand opening. In a perfect world, all of this would have been finished 2 weeks ago, but in the real world, we are waiting on these parts to arrive (hopefully) on a plane on Monday the 1st so we can get our occupancy permit so we can have our event on Thursday the 4th. Not just that but our furniture delivery is scheduled for Tuesday and if the occupancy permit has any hiccup, we won’t get our furniture until Friday (after the grand opening). These delays have also affected the completion of our tiny homes. We had hoped for those to be further along or even finished by the date of our Grand Opening but thats just not how the cards fell. We’re down to the wire y’all and it’s not going to be perfect but there’s no turning back now! As you can imagine there have been many opportunities to give in to fear and anxiety, and I’m sad to say that I’ve given in more than I’d like to admit, but the truth is that God is sovereign; He is in control and He will be glorified!

So, we’d certainly appreciate your prayers leading up to the event, that everything will go as the Lord intends and that our biggest priority will be to honor and glorify Him for all that He has done. Also, so that we can celebrate all of you, our supporters, who the Lord has brought together to build this community. It’s truly been an incredible journey! Please plan on coming out to our grand opening on Thursday 8/4. It is a come-and-go event from 4-7 and I’ll give a brief speech at around 5pm. There will be food trucks, a scavenger hunt, free t-shirts, and more. We just ask that you would be understanding with us as we do our best to pull of the event despite circumstances out of our control.

AFTER THE PARTY

It’s hard for me to look past what is coming this week, but after we have the Grand Opening, we will shortly be moving people in! Wait what?!?! Oh yeah! The finish line is actually the starting line and what we’ve been working for the last 6 years is now finally here. Now it’s time to get to work! We’ve had 4 neighbors living in RVs for the last few years and our Glean Up program has been doing awesome things, but now that we are getting to open the village there are so many exciting things on the horizon. First and foremost, in addition to our 4 current RV neighbors who will move into their tiny homes soon, we get to lift 5 more people off the street and into their permanent homes! We have the privilege to walk with them out of homelessness and into community; a place for them to call home, to heal, and to rediscover their God-given gifts. It is going to be so awesome and oh so beautifully messy! Please pray for each one of our neighbors and ask the Lord to show you how you can get involved.

On a personal level, my own family is going to have a permanent place to call home soon. 6 years ago, when we sold our home and moved into an RV, we really had no idea what was coming, we just knew the Lord wanted us to go. All along the way we have been stretched and sanctified; learning more and more every day to trust the Lord. He has proven ever faithful! For the first 3 years we had a refuge in Greenwood and over the last 3 we have been incredibly blessed by living on the property of Fostering Restoration Ministries with the amazing West Family. I could (and should) write a series of blogs about what we’ve learned in our time here at their farm, but I will forever be grateful to God for giving us places of rest and home even in our sojourning.

Throughout this journey, I can tell you story after story of God providing for us when we thought there was no way, and we were just going to have to pack it all up. Those moments are always stressful, but in His mercy the Lord has kept us centered on the fact that our job is not to be successful, but to be faithful and leave the success up to Him. We had setbacks all along the way. We lost nearly a year and a half when what we thought was going to be our land fell through. I say “lost” but really it was a gain. The Lord knew that we needed to learn so much before we were ready for the village, and He was mercifully telling us in that moment to wait; that His timing was going to be better. It sure didn’t feel like it at the time though! I’d like to say that I always respond to waiting with patience, but that would be a lie. However, in our waiting, we had countless opportunities to see His power displayed in our weakness, not the least of which when we raised most of our $4.5 million capital campaign during a global pandemic and negative oil prices. All I can say is, we didn’t do this, God did! All we’ve done is show up and do our best to take steps in faith, but the Lord has blessed our efforts and made something more beautiful than we could ever ask or imagine. 

I want to ask you for your prayers as we enter into this next season at the village. Please pray for each one of our neighbors. The process of coming out of homelessness and into a community will be very hard and will require personal care and attention. If being involved in that kind of work appeals to you, we need folks that just want to be involved relationally with our neighbors so please reach out. I also want to ask for your prayers for me and my family as we move out there missionally. Again, we’ve been chasing this vision for 6 years and needless to say it’s been exhausting. The trials we have experienced have been intense and the Lord has seen fit to keep us very dependent on Him. We’ve been living in a tiny home with our three kids and two dogs, and by the grace of God will be moving into a more regular size home, and just at the right time because we are expecting our 4th child in December. We have decided to name her Lois, after our friend Lois “Plum” Williams who we had hoped would live with us at the village but ended up passing away before we could bring her home as did many of our other homeless friends. I wrote a post about her a few years ago I’d encourage you to read. All that to say, my family has been called to serve missionally at the village and we need your prayers and support. We also are praying for more people to be called to join us in living missionally at the village in the future.

Finally, I’d like to ask for your prayer for me as the leader of the organization and for our staff. In this work I’ve been brought to my lowest place many times and our staff give themselves away daily. I’ve felt my weakness more than I’ve ever felt before and been brought to the end of myself over and over. I feel a bit like I’m crossing the construction finish line on fumes, as not only has this process been stressful in it’s own right, but for the last few years I’ve been dealing with a condition causing me severe chronic pain and fatigue as well. The Lord in His providence has afflicted me in such a way to keep me from pride and to keep me close to himself, but I am in need of refreshment. My aim here is not that you’d have pity for me, although I wouldn’t mind your compassion, but that like the Apostle Paul said, the Lord’s power could be made perfect in my weakness. I want you all to know that we are opening The Field’s Edge this week, not because of anything I’ve done, or anything anybody has done, but because of the surpassing power and glory of Jesus Christ our Lord.

So as the week unfolds, please be praying for us. Pray that our door hardware comes in on Monday 8/1. Pray that we get our occupancy permit before Tuesday 8/2. Pray that our furniture gets delivered on Tuesday. Pray for trust, peace, and flexibility. Pray that our Grand Opening on Thursday 8/4 honors the Lord within the limitations we’ve been given! And finally pray that our incoming neighbors would come to know what it means to have a home, not just here on earth, but a home eternal in Jesus Christ and let us praise the Lord for all that He has done and all that He is about to do.